WORLD NEWS | Yoga lovers celebrate International Yoga Day in Israel

TEL AVIV, June 21 (Xinhua) — Israel has the largest number of ancient Indian yoga practitioners and teachers per capita, and hundreds of yoga enthusiasts participated in the ninth International Yoga Day celebration on Wednesday.

Every year a series of celebrations are held across the country and this year was equally vibrant with the main event at the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation in partnership with the Indian Mission to Israel and the Indian Mission. cultural Center.

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Indian Ambassador to Israel Sanjeev Singhra, Director of the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation Efrat Dufdwani, Tel Aviv-Jaffa City Council Member Anat Ben Levi attended the event.

“Yoga is India’s gift to the world. It is our ancient heritage that transcends borders and in Israel I am delighted to know that yoga is becoming an integral part of the local culture. International Yoga Day is a great opportunity to further spread the word about the benefits of yoga” , Singhra said.

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In his speech, Dove Devani recalled the active role played by former President Shimon Peres during his tenure as Foreign Minister in establishing full diplomatic relations between India and Israel in 1992.

“It is my pleasure to host International Yoga Day. In 1992, Shimon Peres was appointed Foreign Minister in Yitzhak Rabin’s government. Together they led Israel and India to establish comprehensive diplomatic relations, which was a fruitful event for both countries. The basis of diplomatic relations. So far, cooperation between the two countries in the fields of economy, energy, agriculture, and security has always existed.” said the director-general of the center.

“Our center, the Shimon Perez House of Peace, where women, men, children and adolescents, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, religious, secular, etc. come together every day in this wonderful On days they fit like a glove, the day is filled with calm and peace,” she added.

Anat Ben Levi, a Tel Aviv-Yaffa city councilor, spoke of yoga as “the connection between body and soul.”

“The values ​​of Yoga Day match those of the city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, which include freedom, love, giving and acceptance for everyone,” she emphasized.

Israeli Talia Sutra, who has become a global yoga celebrity, and Darshana Rajput, a yoga expert at the Indian Cultural Center in Tel Aviv, led practice sessions at the event.

The event concluded with a performance of spiritual music by Sandrine Santal and her band, who weaved together rich Indian traditions with captivating bhajans and hymns.

Almost every form of yoga has patrons in Israel, but the most popular is Ashtanga Yoga, with about 95 centers across the country, followed by Vinyasa and Vijaya, with more than 50 centers across the country.

Another popular school of yoga is the Iyengar School of Yoga, which has 30 centers across the country.

There are more than 1,100 registered yoga teachers in Israel, and there are yoga centers in almost every major town in the country.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the body of content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)